Distractions
Distractions is the fourteenth episode of NBC's drama series Heroes. Plot summary The episode begins with Claude Rains and Peter Petrelli walking invisibly through a busy New York City street. They walk into people and cause several disturbances. Claude tells Peter that he absorbs other heroes' powers as a reflex and that he is going to help him gain some control over it. He decides to test Peter by stealing a woman's purse and handing it to him. Claude then leaves Peter alone to see how long he can maintain his invisibility. After a few seconds, Peter's invisibility wears off and the woman sees him. Niki is seen talking to the psychological counselor, who wants to speak with Jessica. Niki is afraid that Jessica will hurt someone if she comes out. The psychologist reassures her by telling her that the cuffs on her wrists could hold an elephant and that she is able to use the taser on the table effectively. Niki starts to talk about how Jessica was talented at playing the piano and how her sister said that she could turn Mozart into a monkey. Then Jessica comes out and confirms she said this. She breaks free of the cuffs and grabs the psychologist before she can subdue Jessica with the taser. Sylar, his powers restored, hurls Mr. Bennet against the glass window of the cell, saying, "That's for the haircut." He takes his wallet and starts to rifle through its contents. He removes his license, which has his home address written on it, and says that he is going to see Claire. Mr. Bennet helplessly pounds his fists against the window as Sylar leaves him trapped inside. Simone goes to visit Isaac. He notices that she knocked on the door instead of using her key. She responds that she shouldn't use it any more. Simone asks Isaac to use his powers to help her find Peter. He replies that he has been trying, unsuccessfully. Isaac says that he knows what Peter can do and that he wants to stop him. He tells Simone to stay safe and to stay away from Peter. As Simone is leaving, Isaac tells her to keep the key. Claire and Zach lie to Mrs. Bennet, telling her that they are going to the aquarium to do research for their project on manatees instead of going to school, when in fact Zach is taking Claire to meet her birth mother Meredith in Kermit, Texas. At Port Washington Harbor in Long Island, Hiro explains his new path in life to his ambitious older sister, Kimiko, and father, Kaito. Hiro's father tells him that he was too strict in making his son work at the lowest position at his company, Yamagato, and offers to make him Executive Vice President and put him on his way to becoming CEO. He says that it is Hiro's destiny, as his only son and heir. Hiro ultimately refuses, explaining his mission to his father in further detail. Enraged, his father rips up the painting and demands that Hiro come home. An alarm sounds at the prison where Niki is being held. The guards rush into the room, discovering Niki lying on the ground and the psychological counselor lying unconscious, with several taser burns on her jacket. Niki asks the guards to take her to her cell. One guard responds that he would love to, and hits Niki with his baton. With Claude's mentoring, Peter begins to question those people closest to him. Claude is convinced that Peter needs to put his loved ones out of his mind because they are distracting him from releasing his full potential. At Claude's suggestion, the two men follow Simone. Isaac is working on multiple pieces at his studio. When he finally wakes from the trance, he is looking at a painting of a taxi with a light coming from below it. He then looks through the other works. Back at the harbor, Kimiko tries to persuade her brother to change his mind. Hiro shrugs her off, even when she states that he is bringing shame to the family and that investors will not stick with a company in which the CEO cannot control his own son. Hiro realizes something about Kimiko's intelligence, and concocts a plan. In Kermit, Claire finally works up the nerve to knock on the door of her mother's trailer. They tearfully reunite and sit down to talk. Claire reveals her power by slicing open her arm with a knife. Her mother tearfully says, "Some family" and reveals her own power of pyrokenesis. Before Claire leaves, her mother gives her a necklace she bought in Mexico. At the Bennets' home, Sylar sits on Claire's bed, playing with the family dog, Mr. Muggles, when Mrs. Bennet returns. Having taken her by surprise, Sylar, wearing a disguise and using a southern accent, tells her that he works for Primatech Paper and found Mr. Muggles in the street while making a delivery. She invites him to stay for dinner, and he accepts. They begin to talk, but his heightened interest in Claire makes Mrs. Bennet suspicious. When she picks up the phone to call her husband, Sylar uses his telekinetic power to knock the phone out of her hand. He tells her that he will kill Claire, and maybe kill her first. Mrs. Bennet dashes towards the front door, but Sylar uses his telekinetic power to slam her against a glass cabinet. Just as he is about to kill her, Mr. Bennet bursts through the door with The Haitian at his side and shoots him several times. Sylar quickly runs out the back door and escapes. Mr. Bennet comforts his wife as The Haitian approaches them. Mrs. Bennet asks who he is, and Mr. Bennet tells her that he is a friend who will help her forget again. The Haitian proceeds to wipe her mind. Simone returns to Isaac's place. When she enters the building, she sees a painting of her and Isaac on the roof of her father's penthouse. Isaac tells her that the roof is connected to the events which are occurring. Simone replies that she agrees with him, because she never figured out how the pigeons came to live up there. Isaac tells her that he still hopes for the painting to come true. Simone asks him why he would have these powers if he wasn't supposed to do something with them. Eventually, they end up on the roof together, as portrayed in the painting. As Claude and Peter spy on them, they watch Simone share an intimate embrace with Isaac. Hiro accepts the position of Executive Vice President, and immediately declares that he will restructure the company by consolidating management in Tokyo. Kimiko protests, claiming his plan would be a disaster. Hiro asks her to think of a better idea. "We should expand by making new acquisitions in aviation. Improve R&D in biotech, recapitalize..." she states. Mr. Nakamura looks on, impressed. Still maintaining his facade, Hiro asks her, "What do you know of these things?" Kimiko counters that she runs three divisions at Yamagato and she is better suited to run the company. Satisfied, Hiro tells his father that he doesn't need him. He and Ando part ways with the other Nakamuras. Aaron Malsky (previously seen in Godsend) visits Niki in her room. He tells her that all charges against her have been dropped, thanks to the help of Linderman. Niki returns home to reunite with D.L and Micah. Jessica, however, has once again sealed away Niki, unbeknown to her son. After Peter angrily yells at Claude for showing Simone and Isaac together, Claude pushes Peter off the thirty-story building, in an attempt to make him fly. Peter slams into a parked taxi, then uses the regeneration ability that he received from Claire. Peter realizes that he does not need to push people out of his mind; he just needs to remember how those people made him feel to regain use of their abilities. Suddenly, Peter begins to use powers at random, presumably because he is overcome with emotion while thinking of each Hero he has met. He becomes overloaded with powers, and his mind flashes to a vision of him exploding. Peter cries, "It's happening!" Claude punches Peter, knocking him out and halting his overload. Isaac works on another painting. The painting shows Peter slumped against a broken taxi, his leg becoming invisible. He then tells Mr. Bennet on the phone that he has found Peter and a way to stop him. Isaac says that Peter is invisible and asks him what it means. "It means an old friend isn't quite as dead as we thought he was," Mr. Bennet responds. Claire and Zach return to the house. Mrs. Bennet angrily informs Claire that the school informed her that she had skipped. Claire realizes that her mother's mind has been wiped as she picks up a shard of glass lying on the couch from the aftermath of Sylar's attack. She gazes at Mr. Bennet, who is in another room. At the end of the episode, Meredith contacts Claire's birth father to let him know his daughter is still alive. On the other end of the line is Claire Bennet's biological father—Nathan Petrelli. Starring * Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet * Jack Coleman as Noah Bennet Memorable quotes Trivia * The license plate of Kaito Nakamura's limousine is NCC-1701. This is a reference to George Takei's role as Hikaru Sulu in the original series of ''Star Trek'', with NCC-1701 being the registry number of the USS Enterprise. This was not something intended by the writers, but instead, was put in by the prop people to honor his previous role. References 114